ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES 23
INTRODUCTION
Energy and Mineral Resources
resource
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1.
2.
oil trap
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3.
4.
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5.
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6.
7.
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8.
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9.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES/FOCUS ON CONCEPTS
23.2 Compare and contrast
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23.4 Describe discuss
23.6 Distinguish
23.8 Discuss
TEACHING STRATEGIES
Muddiest Point:
Energy and Mineral Resources Teaching Resources:
A. Energy
B. Mineral Resources
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TEACHER RESOURCES
Web Resources:
USGS
What Are Minerals Used For?
Imagery, Animations, and Videos:
Images
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Animations
Video
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN THE CHAPTER:
CONCEPT CHECKS
23.1 RENEWABLE AND NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES
1. Renewable resources can be replenished over relatively short time spans such as months,
2. Resources like aluminum, which can be recycled, are still considered nonrenewable because
they exist in essentially finite concentrations in the Earth.
23.2 ENERGY RESOURCES: TRADITIONAL FOSSIL FUELS
1. Coal, oil, and natural gas are called fossil fuel because when we combust them, we are using
2. Petroleum represents about 36 percent of energy use in the United States, mainly in the
transportation sector. Natural gas represents about 25 percent of energy-use in the United
3. Advantages of coal are that it is relatively plentiful and we have technology to mine it
4. An oil trap is a geologic environment that allows for economically significant amounts of oil
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23.3 OIL SANDS, OIL SHALE, AND GAS HYDRATES
1. Oil sands are usually mixtures of clay and sand combined with water and varying amounts of a
2. Roughly half of the worlds supply of oil shale is in the Green River Formation in Colorado,
Utah, and Wyoming. Oil shale is a potential source of oil that is not yet economical to exploit.
3. Gas hydrates are unusually compact chemical structures made of water and natural gas. The
5. Obtaining oil from oil sands causes substantial land disturbance and requires large quantities
of water to process. When processing is complete, contaminate water and sediment
hydrates rapidly decompose at surface temperatures and pressures.
23.4 NUCLEAR ENERGY
2. The primary fuel used in nuclear power plants is uranium-235 because it is the only naturally
occurring isotope that is readily fissionable.
3. Pros: large quantities of uranium are available and nuclear energy does not release fossil fuels
(clean). Cons: safety concerns cause nuclear power to be very expensive to implement,
23.5 RENEWABLE ENERGY
1. In 2011, renewable energy represented 9 percent of all energy used. About 13 percent of US
electricity is generated from renewable sources.
3. Solar energy is used to produce electricity through passive or active solar collectors. Passive
collectors are south-facing windows that allow sunlight to pass through and radiate heat by
4. Wind energy has had more rapid growth in recent years as more and more wind turbines are
installed worldwide. Hydroelectric power has not shown much growth because most of the
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5. Biomass is organic material made from plants and animals. Some examples of biomass fuels
6. Hydroelectric power in the United States is most concentrated in the southeast and Pacific
23.6 MINERAL RESOURCES
1. A resource is an endowment of useful minerals ultimately available commercially. Reserves are
23.7 IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC PROCESSES
1. As a large magma body cools, the heavy minerals that crystallize early tend to settle to the
2. Hydrothermal deposits are those that originate from hot, metal-rich fluids. Two types are
3. Sulfide ore deposits form at mid-ocean ridges where heated seawater rich in dissolved metals
4. Contact metamorphism chemically alters the host rock by heat, pressure, and hydrothermal
23.8 MINERAL RESOURCES RELATED TO SURFACE PROCESSES
1. Secondary enrichment is the process of weathering concentrating minor amounts of metal
scattered throughout unweathered rocks into economically valuable concentrations.
2. The primary ore of aluminum is bauxite. Bauxite is formed in rainy tropical climates when
3. When pyrite chemically weathers, sulfuric acid forms, which enables percolating waters to
4. Placers are deposits formed when heavy minerals are mechanically concentrated by currents,
23.9 NONMETALLIC MINERAL RESOURCES
1. The per capita consumption of nonfuel resources in the United States totals more than 11
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2. Building materials are widely distributed resources that are used in construction and public
3. Two examples of building materials are aggregates of crushed stone, sand, and gravel, and
4. Limestone may be either a building material (used as crushed rock, as a building stone, and in
EYE ON EARTH
EOE #1 LAKE POWELL AND GLEN CANYON DAM
1. Energy generated at Glen Canyon Dam is hydroelectric energy.
3. Sediment deposited behind dams such as this may eventually completely fill the reservoir,
EOE #2 LANDFILLS
1. Trash and waste can be combusted to produce energy. This would be considered biomass
2. Because this biomass will continue to decompose for a long period of time, it would be
GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT
1. More than 150 years ago, wood supplied a high percentage of our energy needs, but fossil fuels
of coal, oil, and, natural gas replaced its usage.
2. Looking at Figure 23.2, I would show my friend that coal provides 91 percent of our electricity
4. In the decades to come, it is estimated that the percentage of our electricity generated from
5. I would reply that although we can recycle and thus reuse aluminum, its availability in the
6. In this chapter, the term has a much broader meaning than the strict definition of a
geologic mineral from earlier chapters. Mineral resources refer to any Earth material not used
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7. The term is used to describe useful metallic minerals that can be mined at a profit. So,
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